


One Slight Difference And . . .

by Giant_Flying_Sky_Whale



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friendship, Gen, Half-Pint Trio, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tags Are Hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:29:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25963633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Giant_Flying_Sky_Whale/pseuds/Giant_Flying_Sky_Whale
Summary: Pivotal moments during the Xehanort Saga that happened differently.Ch. 1 - BBS Aqua and Terranort & TerraCh. 2 - KH1 Riku Joins the Half-Pint TrioCh. 3 - KH2 Roxas Meets SoraCh. 4 - CoM Half-Pint Trio is a Little SlowerCh. 5 - 0.2 Aqua Meets KH1 Kairi
Relationships: Aqua & Kairi (Kingdom Hearts), Aqua & Terra (Kingdom Hearts), Donald Duck & Goofy & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Naminé & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas & Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 20





	1. BBS Aqua and Terranort & Terra

**Author's Note:**

> After fighting Terranort, Aqua dives into the dark portal after him. She tried to send him back to the Realm of Light before the portal closed, but . . .

Terra’s body jerked back away from Aqua. His body started glowing, surrounded by wisps of light. “Stop fighting back!” he ordered, sounding like he was struggling.

Aqua didn’t know what Terra was struggling against, but she knew that he had the strength to defeat it. “Terra, I know you’re in there!” she encouraged.

He looked down at his Keyblade, positioning it so that it was pointed at himself. “This’ll teach you. Get out of my heart!” Terra, and Aqua was sure that it was Terra, exclaimed, plunging the Keyblade into his own heart.

That was . . . not what Aqua had been expecting. “Terra!” she shouted, worried.

The Keyblade fell to the ground and de-materialized. The Dark Guardian that had appeared in the second half of their fight materialized again, faded away and fell into a dark portal in the ground. Then Terra leaned back, toward the dark portal.

/He’s going to fall in!/ Aqua thought, frantic. She un-summoned Rainfell and ran over, jumping into the dark portal after Terra.

Falling into the darkness, she instantly summoned her armor and Keyblade glider. Terra was some distance deeper into the darkness than she was, but she could still reach him, she was sure. But . . . 

“The darkness can’t have you!” Aqua shouted, pouring more of her energy into the Keyblade glider to accelerate. She quickly caught up to him and took hold of his hand, pulling him onto her glider with her. She turned around, heading back up to the light. However, she could tell that the portal to the Realm of Light was disappearing . . . “I have to do something or we’ll both be lost.”

Aqua de-materialized her armor and glider, giving Rainfell to Terra. “I’m with you. Go!” she commanded, using her magic to send Terra back through the portal. She smiled after him, glad that one of them would make it.

Sinking into the Realm of Darkness, Aqua voiced her regrets, “Ven, I’m sorry . . .” she closed her eyes. “I might not make it back as soon as I thought. But I promise I’ll be there, one day, to wake you up.”

* * *

Eventually, Aqua landed on a path. She looked around, taking in her surroundings. “So, this is the Realm of Darkness . . .” She heard a sound above her and startled, looking up. To her disbelief and sadness, she saw Terra, her armor, and Rainfell. “No . . . I wasn’t fast enough?” she asked herself in despair. Then she noticed the speed with which Terra was falling. “Terra!” she shouted, concerned, using her magic to slow his fall so that it was a gentle float down to the path. She ran over, kneeling beside him and supporting his head. “Are you okay? Say something!”

“My name . . . is Xeha . . . nort . . .” he struggled to say, fainting immediately after.

“Xehanort?!” Aqua gasped, dropping the body and scrambling back. And she had almost let him into the Realm of Light, with none the wiser! “Terra . . . I know you’re in there. And I know Xehanort’s hold on you is strong. But . . . I’m going to help you fight him off.” She seized Rainfell and pointed it at Terra’s chest, unlocking his heart. A heart, one almost completely made of darkness, floated up into the air before disappearing. She had done all that she could. Now, the only thing left to do was to wait and see . . . and hope that the heart that was released from the body was Xehanort’s . . . and not Terra’s.

* * *

It did not take long for the body to begin moving.

Aqua backed away from it, falling into a fighting pose. If this was Xehanort, she would need to end his threat right here and now . . . She needed to be ready.

He groaned, slowly sitting up. He flinched, as if surprised, and turned to face her. “. . . Aqua . . . ?” he asked.

She did not relinquish her ready stance, aware that Xehanort might try to use her friendship with Terra against her. “Who are you?” she demanded.

“Aqua, it’s me,” he said, confused, standing up.

“Summon your Keyblade,” she ordered.

“Aqua, what . . . ?” he asked, taking a step toward her.

She swung Rainfell at him, stepping back at the same time he did. “ _ Summon your Keyblade _ ,” she repeated, deadly serious.

He raised his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, just calm down.” He held out his hand and summoned . . . Earthshaker.

Aqua immediately relaxed, un-summoning Rainfell. “Terra!” She ran toward him, barely giving him any time to un-summon Earthshaker and clung to him. Terra embraced her hesitantly, still confused.

When she had calmed down sufficiently, Aqua looked up at her friend.

“Aqua . . . what happened? Where are we?” Terra asked.

“What do you remember?” she replied.

Terra hesitated, thinking deeply. Suddenly, he was alarmed and looked at her urgently. “Xehanort! He . . . took over my body! Aqua, you have to - before he - ”

“I already got him out, Terra,” Aqua replied. “We fought in Radiant Garden and you fell into a dark portal. I followed you in and tried to get us both out, but . . . the portal was closing. I tried to send you through before it closed all the way, but it didn’t work. Instead, we’re both here, in the Realm of Darkness.” Terra gasped, looking around at their surroundings. “When you woke up, you said you were Xehanort and I used my Keyblade to free your heart from his control.”

“Aqua, wow . . .” Terra marveled. “That’s . . . a lot . . .”

“It’s not enough,” Aqua countered. “We’re both stuck here, in the Realm of Darkness, with no way out of here.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Terra told her. “At least Xehanort isn’t in the Realm of Light, wreaking more of his havoc. I am myself and that’s more than I hoped would happen, after he possessed me.”

Aqua couldn’t think of an argument to that. And at least Terra was still himself. And neither one of them were here, alone. Almost anything would have been better than Xehanort wreaking havoc. “But we still don’t have a way out of here.”

Terra scoffed. “With the two of us here, that’ll be easy. Come on, let’s go find our way back to the Realm of Light.”

* * *

“Seems like we’ve been walking for ages,” Aqua said, exhausted. “How long have we been down here?”

“Long enough that we could rest if you need to,” Terra replied, concerned. “You fought some powerful enemies before falling down here.”

Before they could continue their conversation, four large enemies appeared.

“You take two, I got two?” Terra asked.

“Depends how fast you take down yours,” Aqua teased.

“You’re on!” Terra smirked, determined.

Before either of them could move, they noticed a light in the distance and a Keyblade flying toward them. It was . . . Wayward Wind - Ventus’s! It destroyed all four of the enemies before flying away.

Aqua stared after Wayward Wind, encouraged. “There’s always a way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My extrapolation (because I am not THAT creative):  
> Ansem SoD and Xemnas still exist. Ansem SoD influences Braig and the apprentices of Ansem the Wise, leading to the events of the rest of the series. The main difference here is that Aqua and Terra are both in the Realm of Darkness and there is no Dark Guardian after BBS Final Episode.
> 
> If you have any ideas you want me to write, let me know!


	2. KH1 Riku Joins the Half-Pint Trio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku can’t disappear during Traverse Town 2, because Sora made his escape back to Maleficent impossible. So, he ends up joining the Half-Pint Trio instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I read "Half-Pint Trio" as a name for Sora, Donald, and Goofy somewhere, but I cannot for the life of me remember where. Anyway, I fell in love with the name, so here it is.

Sora saw the beginning formation of Heartless appearing and fell into his battle stance, prepared to fight them off again.

Suddenly, the Heartless in front of him disappeared, and in its place was “There you are,” Riku said. “What’s going on?”

Sora couldn’t believe it. He’d seen Kairi a few times, but it had apparently never actually been her? But now . . . “Riku!” he exclaimed, disbelieving, reaching for his friend. He stuck his thumbs in his friend’s mouth and shook his head to make sure he wasn’t an illusion.

Riku leaned back, throwing his arm up to dislodge Sora’s grip. “Hey, hey, cut it out,” he protested.

“I’m not dreaming this time,” Sora said, looking Riku up and down, then added desperately, “right?” He didn’t know if he could take another illusion.

“I hope not,” Riku answered, brushing his hair back. “Took forever to find you.”

That answer told him all he needed to know. “Riku!” Sora said happily. They began walking farther into District Three when Sora stopped, asking Riku, “Wait a second, where’s Kairi?”

Riku turned, asking in return, “Isn’t she with you?” Sora looked down sadly, disappointed with himself. “Well, don’t worry,” Riku told him, walking past. “I’m sure she made it off the island, too,” he stopped and turned to look back at Sora. “We’re finally free,” Riku turned away again, lifting his arms up in celebration. “Hey, she might even be looking for us now.” Sora heard the familiar sound of a Heartless materializing. “We’ll all be together again soon.” Sora looked away from Riku and toward the sound, finding a Shadow. “Don’t worry. Just leave everything to me. I know this - ”

Sora quickly summoned his Keyblade and slashed at the Shadow, making it disappear. He stood up, turning around, and saw that Riku was staring at him. He didn’t usually leave his friend dumbfounded like this . . . He threw his Keyblade over his shoulder and asked, cockily, “Leave it to who?” 

Riku walked a little closer to him, Sora dropping his Keyblade. Riku asked, “Sora, what did you - ” He cut himself off.

“I’ve been looking for you and Kairi, too, with their help,” Sora answered, including Donald and Goofy into the conversation for the first time.

“Who are they?” Riku asked, glancing over to Donald and Goofy.

“Ahem,” Donald cleared his throat. “My name is - ”

Sora interrupted, needing to tell Riku what he’d been doing since their Island disappeared. “We’ve visited so many places and worlds, looking for you.”

“Really?” Riku replied. “Well, what do you know? I never would have guessed.”

Goofy walked behind Sora, clapping his hands on his shoulders, saying, “Oh, and guess what? Sora’s the Keyblade master.”

“Who would’ve thought it?” Donald asked.

“What’s that mean!” Sora asked indignantly, turning away from Riku.

“So, this is called a Keyblade?” Riku asked.

Sora turned back to Riku, confused when he saw his Keyblade being held up by his friend, turning to look at his empty hand that was  _ supposed _ to be holding his Keyblade. “Huh?” He ran toward Riku, “Hey, give it back.” Riku stepped back and Sora, overbalanced, fell.

Sora watched Riku hold his Keyblade up above his head, studying it. “Catch!” Riku challenged, throwing the Keyblade to him

“Whoa,” Sora quickly stood up and caught it. “Okay, so, you’re coming with us, right?” Sora asked, excited to have one of his friends join in on the adventure. “We’ve got this awesome rocket. Wait ’til you see it!”

“No, he can’t come!” Donald disagreed.

“What?” Sora asked, indignant.

“Forget it!” Donald replied.

“Oh, come on!” Sora argued, reaching over and grabbing Riku’s arm, dragging him over to Donald. “He’s my friend!”

“I don’t care!” Donald argued.

“Well, if Riku can’t come with us, then I’m not going with you!” Sora countered.

“What!?” Donald shouted, shocked.

“Sora!” Goofy exclaimed.

“Your king told you to follow the key, right? Well, Riku and I can find our own way to travel to other worlds and seal their Keyholes - we don’t need you!”

Donald and Goofy looked at each other.

“Sora . . .” Riku said, shocked.

Sora turned to his friend, suddenly embarrassed. “Well, you know . . . you’re all I have left from the Islands . . . Kairi’s still missing, after all . . . and this is what we wanted, right? To travel to other worlds, together?”

Riku stared at Sora for a few more seconds before he smiled. “Yeah . . . You’re right. Thanks, Sora.”

“Oh, I guess he can join . . .” Donald interrupted reluctantly.

“He can?!” Sora asked excitedly. He hadn’t wanted to split up from Donald and Goofy, but if he had to choose between them and his best friend . . . well, there wasn’t much of a contest, was there? But, now, he didn’t have to choose! He could travel with all three! And, with any luck, they would find Kairi soon too!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My extrapolation:  
> Sora saying that he would ditch Donald and Goofy provided the reassurance that Riku needed - Maleficent’s needling and coercion stopped working on him. Instead, he traveled with the Half-Pint Trio during the second ring of worlds in KH1, Hook separated them in Neverland, Maleficent told Riku that the only way to wake Kairi up was to accept the Darkness (aka Ansem Seeker of Darkness), and the events of Hollow Bastion and the End of the World happen as they do in KH1.


	3. KH2 Roxas Meets Sora

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Instead of merging with Sora at the beginning of KH2, Roxas merges with his Other near the end.

There was darkness all around him.

And then there was a person in the distance. He had spiky blonde hair, a white shirt, and tan baggy pants. He looked around before turning to face him.

“Sora?” the boy asked.

The darkness quickly disappeared and the area flooded with white. The boy disappeared along with the darkness.

“Who’s there?” Sora asked.

“Sora!”

“Sora, wake up!”

Those voices . . . he knew them. The first one was . . . Donald? And the second was Goofy!

Sora opened his eyes, having just realized they were closed, and saw a wall in front of him. Inside the room, it was misty. Then the wall in front of him moved away from him and to the floor. Sora stretched, closing his eyes and yawning. He dazedly opened his eyes and saw his two friends standing on the floor underneath whatever Sora was in, laughing at him. He shook himself awake and jumped out, landing on his feet and grabbing hold of their shoulders. Immediately, his legs decided not to work and he faltered, falling onto his knees and sliding forward a little. He used his friends as support to stand up again.

“Donald, Goofy!” he shouted.

They grabbed each other’s hands, standing in a circle, and began jumping around and laughing.

Sora stopped jumping when he felt Jiminy move from the hood on the back of his jacket.

Jiminy stretched and yawned too, saying, “That was some nap!” Sora turned to Donald and Goofy, shocked, before looking back at Jiminy. The cricket jumped off his shoulder and to the floor.

“You mean, we were asleep?” Sora asked.

“Guess we musta been, or I don’t think we’d be so drowsy . . .” Jiminy reasoned.

“When do ya think we went to sleep?” Goofy asked.

“Uhh . . .” Donald thought.

“Let’s see . . .” Sora said slowly, “we defeated Ansem . . .”

“Yup,” Goofy agreed.

“. . . Restored peace to the world . . . found Kairi . . . Oh yeah, and then we went to look for Riku. I think that’s right so far?”

“Then what?” Donald asked.

“What does your journal say, Jiminy?” Goofy wondered.

Jiminy pulled out his journal, then looked through it. “Gee, there’s only one sentence! ‘Thank Naminé.’ Hmm . . . I wonder who that is.”

Sora, Donald, and Goofy just shook their heads.

“Some journal  _ that _ is,” Donald accused.

Jiminy jerked back, then offered, “Well, what do ya say we find out where we are!”

* * *

They walked out the door and down the hall. Sora tried to avoid looking at the sleeping pods - there were so many and he had no idea how long he had spent sleeping in one of them. They ended up in another room that led to a room with . . . a computer?

Sora walked over, looking it over.

“Sora, the door is this way!” Goofy called.

“Yeah . . .” Sora replied, distracted. Something was . . . calling him? To the computer? His hand drifted over the keys, pressing a button that read “Enter.”

A machine to the right immediately powered up.

“Wak!” Donald exclaimed. “What did you do?!”

“Nothing!” Sora defended himself. “I just pressed a button!”

“That’s something!” Donald argued.

“Gawrsh, fellah’s, now’s not the time to argue about this!” Goofy interrupted before they could get into an argument. “Somethin’s coming!”

A white cylinder appeared and the trio immediately fell into battle stances. When the light disappeared, a person was standing in the middle. He had spiky blonde hair, a white shirt, and tan baggy pants.

“Whoa!” Sora shouted, jumping back. The boy startled. “It’s . . . you. I saw you, right before I heard Donald and Goofy calling for me.”

“That’s right. I’m Roxas,” the boy said. “Nice to meet you, Sora.”

“Roxas, huh,” Sora repeated. “Wait, you know my name!”

“Of course I know your name,” Roxas replied, smiling slightly. “The people who were working to wake you up, they put me inside the computer, into a digital replica of this world.”

“Why did they put you in there?” Goofy asked.

“Some of Sora’s memories had found their way into me. The only way for him to be whole again was for them to contain me and remove his memories from within me.”

Sora frowned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even know that my memories were a problem like that.” Roxas shrugged in reply. “Do you know why we were asleep too?”

“All I know is that they were putting your memories back together, sorry,” Roxas answered. “I don’t know how they broke apart in the first place, but I think that the whole process of fixing your memories is the reason you were sleeping in the first place.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” Sora nodded.

“You know about other worlds, too?” Donald asked. Roxas nodded. Donald and Goofy shared a look before Donald continued, “Would you like to come with us, then? We could always use more help, especially with this bonehead over here,” he pointed accusingly at Sora.

“Hey!” Sora protested. “We did fine on our own when we saved the worlds!”

“Could I come with you?” Roxas interrupted before the argument could continue. Goofy gave him a grateful look. “I’m looking for my friend, too.”

Sora grinned widely, argument with Donald forgotten, crossing his arms behind his head. “Sure! The more the merrier! Right, Donald, Goofy?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Making this idea into an actual fic.
> 
> My extrapolation:   
> Axel and Roxas join the Half-Pint Trio during the events of KH2. In the pathway to The World That Never Was, the only way to get through is for Axel to sacrifice himself. Roxas loses control of his anger (because he is angry boi) and fights Sora at Memory’s Skyscraper, merging with him just like in KH2.


	4. CoM Half-Pint Trio is a Little Slower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Naminé are just a little slower when headed down to the sleep chamber.

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Naminé walked into the white room. In the middle, there was a pod that looked vaguely like a flower before full bloom but one side had the petals folded down.

“To remember again, we have to sleep in that?” Donald asked.

“Yes,” Naminé answered, turning toward the two. “It’s going to take a little time, but I’ll take care of you,” she promised.

“Gawrsh, when we wake up, we won’t remember who you are anymore . . .” Goofy pointed out, scratching his head.

“But how are we gonna thank you?” Donald asked.

“Don’t worry about that!” Jiminy replied. “I’ll just make a big note in my journal, and it will say, ‘Thank Naminé.’” Sora smiled at the cricket’s words.

“Oh, good,” Donald said. “That makes me feel better.” Goofy nodded, agreeing.

“Well, good night, then, Naminé,” Goofy waved to Naminé.

“Good night, Goofy,” Naminé replied as the two turned away to head to their sleeping pods. “You too, Sora.”

“Okay,” Sora agreed, turning toward the sleeping pod and preparing to climb in.

“All of this may have started with a lie . . .” Naminé interrupted, “but I really am glad that I could meet you, Sora.”

“Yeah, me too. When I finally found you, and even when I remembered your name, I was happy.” He turned away from the pod to face her. “The way I felt then - that was no lie.”

The two stared at each other, the silence between them heavy with what they knew was going to happen.

Eventually, Naminé broke the silence, saying, “Goodbye.”

“No, not goodbye!” Sora argued. “When I wake up, I’ll find you. And then there will be no lies. We’re gonna be friends for real. Promise me, Naminé.”

“You’re going to forget making that promise,” Naminé told him.

“If the chain of memories comes apart, the links will still be there, right? So the memory of our promise will always be inside me somewhere. I’m sure of it.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Okay, it’s a promise.”

“Good. Until later.”

The two walked closer to each other and Sora held out his pinky finger. Naminé linked hers with his and the two shook on it. Then Sora pulled away, smiling awkwardly and waving at her before jumping into the pod.

“A promise . . .” Naminé said, holding up her hand with her pinky still up in the air. “Huh . . .”

“ . . . Sora!” Riku exclaimed.

Sora startled, looking up at the replica of his best friend. “Riku! You came back!” He jumped back down out of the sleeping pod, running to stand next to Naminé. He had learned from his adventure through this castle - this Riku liked his space.

The Riku looked confused. “Came back?” he asked.

Naminé shook her head, turning to Sora. “No, Sora, this is the real Riku.”

Sora’s eyes widened at the information and he turned to truly look at his best friend. “Really?!” He grinned, running forward to grab a hold of his arm. “You’re okay!” Honestly, Sora was just so relieved to see his best friend right now. The last time he had seen him, he had been trapped behind the Door to Darkness.

“The real Riku?” Riku asked, still confused but suddenly much more on edge. “Did you meet the fake too?”

“Yeah - ” Sora answered absently. But the details paled in comparison to, “You’re safe, Riku!” he shouted again, just for the joy of saying it.

“Oh, nevermind,” Riku sighed. “What are you doing here, though? Why were you standing in that thing?”

Sora turned back to the sleeping pod again, suddenly much less energetic. “Oh . . . right . . .” He sighed, turned to Naminé. “. . . Are you sure?” he asked hopefully.

Naminé shook her head sadly. “The chains of the memories I made on my own - they directly contradict your true memories. And your memories of this castle are so closely tied to the memories I made that I can’t separate them.”

“But if I keep my memories from here  _ and  _ regain my old memories, then I’ll know that they’ll contradict each other and I’ll even know why!” Sora argued.

“What’s happening?” Riku asked, panicked.

“Oh,” Sora said, turning back to Riku. “Um . . .” he trailed off, looking at Naminé for help explaining the situation.

Naminé sighed, smiling at Sora. “I’m a witch with power over Sora’s memories and those around him. Marluxia made me use that power to rearrange the chains of memories in Sora’s heart. For him to regain his true memories, he needs to sleep in that pod - so that I can fix the chains of memories within his heart.”

“What . . . ?” Riku asked, still confused. “But . . . he remembers me?”

“There were three of you on the Islands, right, Sora?” Naminé asked.

“There were?” Sora asked, crossing his arms, thinking aloud. “I know Riku and I were . . . and I remember you being there, but that’s not true? There was someone else with us, too?”

Riku blinked. “. . . Oh . . .”

“Wait!” Sora shouted suddenly. “You don’t know who Naminé is!” He backed away from Riku to stand between the two of them. “Riku, this is Naminé. Naminé, you know Riku already, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. Nice to meet you, Riku.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Naminé.” He turned back to Sora. “So . . . you’re just going to go to sleep now? And not remember anything of what happened here?”

Sora looked down. “Yeah . . . I need my true memories . . . Hey, but Riku, you’ll be here, right? While Naminé fixes my memories?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Riku agreed. “Why?”

“Would you watch over her for me and keep her safe?”

“Sora!” Naminé gasped.

“She’s already been through so much, she doesn’t need any more pain,” Sora continued. “You have to protect her for me, okay?”

Riku nodded. “I won’t let you down.”

“Good!” Sora grinned. “I’m counting on you!” Sora jumped back into the sleeping pod, waving at them both.

“Oh, Sora!” Naminé called. “Some of your memories’ links are deep in the shadows of your heart and I won’t be able to find them.” The petals of the sleeping pod began folding up to close Sora in. Riku jerked forward in reflex, but held himself back from interfering. “But don’t worry - You made another promise to someone who you could never replace. She is your light. The light within the darkness. Remember her, and all the memories lost in the shadows of your heart will come into the light.”

“Another promise . . .” Sora said, thinking.

“Look at the good luck charm. I changed its shape when I changed your memory - But when you thought of her just once, it went back to the way it was.”

Sora pulled the good luck charm out of his pocket, staring at it as the petals folded up all the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My extrapolation:  
> Riku is nicer to Naminé than he is in canon KH2 (he was never mean per se, but in general he wasn’t particularly nice to her). He also makes sure that DiZ (aka Ansem the Wise) doesn’t suck (as much, there’s only so much my poor boi can do).


	5. 0.2 Aqua Meets KH1 Kairi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the end of 0.2, Aqua did not stay stuck in the Realm of Darkness after Destiny Islands crossed into the Realm of Light without her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End Notes are long for this one.

Aqua laid on the sand, having defeated the Demon Tide, staring up at the sky. It was strange - she was still in the Realm of Darkness, she knew she was, but it looked like the middle of the day on the Dark World Destiny Islands. She stared up at the sky,

“It’s beautiful.” She hadn’t seen it in so long . . . This was real.

She stared at the sky for hours, watching as the clouds covered the blue sky and it gradually faded into ‘night’. Surprisingly,

“The stars are out.” She hadn’t expected to see stars in the Realm of Darkness, but here they were. Watching the stars, it made her think of that last night they were all together beneath the same stars. “Terra. Ven . . .” Light started falling down around her. “Just me again.” She quietly said, “Oh,” as she noticed the light, continuing, “They did it. The worlds are being restored.” Once enough light had fallen onto the Island, it started disappearing, fading away into light. Aqua closed her eyes, expecting to fall. “‘May our hearts be our guiding key.’ You’ll know . . . where I am.”

* * *

_ “I’ll come back to you! I promise!” _

_ “I know you will!” _

Those words repeated in Kairi’s head long after Sora had disappeared, swallowed by the light of all the worlds being restored from darkness. She kept staring, mesmerized by the brilliant display, until long after it had faded and the sun had set.

She felt . . . empty. And sad. Sure, she had tagged along for Sora’s adventure, but it had been  _ his _ \- they hadn’t shared it. They had  _ finally _ gotten off the Islands. And the three of them were separated - Kairi had managed to only really see Traverse Town - and turned against one another (Riku). And even though everything had gone back to normal, they really hadn’t. Sora and Riku were still out there, and here Kairi was. Here. On the Islands. Because she hadn’t,  _ couldn’t _ have, done any exploring of her own, hadn’t grown, was still the same girl that she was before they had left. She wanted to help but, in the end, what could she really do? Sora had even told her that she’d get in the way!

She shook it off. Sora still had her Wayfinder. So long as he had her charm with him, he would find his way back home. And, he would bring Riku back with him. She just had to wait.

She sighed, turning to the docks to (hopefully) find a boat so that she could get back to the main island.

And froze.

There, lying in the sand, was a woman, clearly unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the game, and how Mickey arrived in the Realm of Darkness in the first place (being on a world as it fell to Darkness), why couldn’t the same be true for a world returning to the Realm of Light? The Door to Darkness might not let a heart of light pass through, but that applies to both directions and, again, he got to the RoD somehow.
> 
> My extrapolation:  
> \- Aqua cannot travel between worlds because she has Master’s Defender and not her Keyblade  
> \- Aqua trains Kairi - “You’re the young girl I met in Radiant Garden!”  
> \- Both of them forget about Sora, but Kairi knows that Riku is still out there. She continues training because she just has a feeling she wants to be able to do something when she can get off the Islands  
> \- Mickey feels pretty guilty he didn’t follow up on Aqua, lol  
> \- Aqua u n d e r s t a n d s that the Mark of Mastery exam Yen Sid puts Sora and Riku through is stupid and could just as easily be their first assignment. They still take an exam, but it is just like hers and Terra’s. They both pass  
> \- Because Sora and Riku know that Dream Drop Distance was not the Mark of Mastery exam, they are much more concerned about the part where they are separated from each other. They find each other sooner and Sora does not almost become One of the Thirteen and get nerfed at the end


End file.
